I do hope that most of you are familiar with the fiasco in King County, WA with the Whino and the Whinonettes. If not, they have managed to worm their way into the elected officials, etc., you know the story of how that goes. Anyway, there is an article in this morning's paper,
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009855231_dogbite13.html , of results of bringing in this "guru" and his misguided movement.
King County has received a lot of criticism because of being "Winograded". Animal control is the most hated department in government, probably outranking the Tax Collector. When budgets are cut, animal control is the first one. Animal control usually has more complaints going into elected officials than any other department. Why? Because animals are an emotional subject.
What people don't understand is that animal control must follow the law. If you don't like what you see, don't blame animal control, blame the person you voted for and go after them. But when you do, they turn around and try to make animal control the scapegoat. Don't let them do that, keep control of the situation and the focus where it should be. Animal control only follows the rules, they don't make them.
Animal control was not established to take care of the animals, the humane community was established to do that. If animals are being euthanized in the shelters, it isn't animal control's fault, it is the humane community's fault. They are letting these animals down by not taking them out. Animal control needs to focus on keeping the community safe and let the humane community worry about keeping the animals from being euthanized. You have to look at the ones being euthanized only to see that most shelters are "cherry picked" by the humane community, rather than them trying to actually save those normally euthanized. They want "adoptable" animals, easily adoptable and thereby they can earn the title of "no kill" because they don't have to euthanize. But there is a double standard at play. The ones the humane community don't want, the ones that don't meet their definition for themselves as adoptable, are what is left for the shelter. Thus euthanization occurs. And then the humane community shakes their fingers at the shelter for euthanizing when they, the humane community, failed to take the animals out.
Because of the "No Kill" movement, shelters are now scared to say no, they are scared to stand for what they think is right, because they are highly criticized for it. And in King County's case, they can lose their jobs because KC is thinking of privatizing. So they are forced to make decisions. It is damned if they do, and damned if they don't. And it serves a personal agenda of "No Kill".
We have to take back our shelters. We have to sit in the budget meetings and help fight for the funds to do programs for the shelters. We have to establish 501c3's for our shelters and actively seek donations. We have to work with the shelters not against them. Dividing and conquer is the motto of "No Kill" when it needs to be "Teamwork". There are a lot of good people who work in animal control and they want the changes probably more than any of us do. But they do the best job they can do with what they are given to do with, that's what we need to remember and change. Money, folks, it take money and commitment. That's what King County needs, not a bunch of "No Kill'ers" biting at their heels.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009855231_dogbite13.html , of results of bringing in this "guru" and his misguided movement.
King County has received a lot of criticism because of being "Winograded". Animal control is the most hated department in government, probably outranking the Tax Collector. When budgets are cut, animal control is the first one. Animal control usually has more complaints going into elected officials than any other department. Why? Because animals are an emotional subject.
What people don't understand is that animal control must follow the law. If you don't like what you see, don't blame animal control, blame the person you voted for and go after them. But when you do, they turn around and try to make animal control the scapegoat. Don't let them do that, keep control of the situation and the focus where it should be. Animal control only follows the rules, they don't make them.
Animal control was not established to take care of the animals, the humane community was established to do that. If animals are being euthanized in the shelters, it isn't animal control's fault, it is the humane community's fault. They are letting these animals down by not taking them out. Animal control needs to focus on keeping the community safe and let the humane community worry about keeping the animals from being euthanized. You have to look at the ones being euthanized only to see that most shelters are "cherry picked" by the humane community, rather than them trying to actually save those normally euthanized. They want "adoptable" animals, easily adoptable and thereby they can earn the title of "no kill" because they don't have to euthanize. But there is a double standard at play. The ones the humane community don't want, the ones that don't meet their definition for themselves as adoptable, are what is left for the shelter. Thus euthanization occurs. And then the humane community shakes their fingers at the shelter for euthanizing when they, the humane community, failed to take the animals out.
Because of the "No Kill" movement, shelters are now scared to say no, they are scared to stand for what they think is right, because they are highly criticized for it. And in King County's case, they can lose their jobs because KC is thinking of privatizing. So they are forced to make decisions. It is damned if they do, and damned if they don't. And it serves a personal agenda of "No Kill".
We have to take back our shelters. We have to sit in the budget meetings and help fight for the funds to do programs for the shelters. We have to establish 501c3's for our shelters and actively seek donations. We have to work with the shelters not against them. Dividing and conquer is the motto of "No Kill" when it needs to be "Teamwork". There are a lot of good people who work in animal control and they want the changes probably more than any of us do. But they do the best job they can do with what they are given to do with, that's what we need to remember and change. Money, folks, it take money and commitment. That's what King County needs, not a bunch of "No Kill'ers" biting at their heels.
2 comments:
i would like to link your blogs on this king county debacle to mine. clearly, you are much more knowledgeable than i. you predicted EXACTLY what would occur in october 2008. your crystal ball was dead on.
i wish had the time to vigorously pursue this topic at the level that it demands.
"No Kill" is highly predictable if you have knowledge of it and also of animal control. Same thing is happening in Indy where Rae has actually told the field officers to stop picking up animals. It happened in King County because they were given the "No Kill" mandate. These people are fighting for their jobs so they are trying to fulfill a mandate that never should have been issued. It's damn if they do and damn if they don't. They can't do it all without a hell of a lot of money behind them. We, those of us with common sense, know this ain't gonna happen, not even in the best of times.
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